One Hundred Days of Silence: America and the Rwanda Genocide
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Contents |
Background
Jared Cohen, a young scholar with a bachelor’s from Stanford University and a Masters in International Relations from Oxford where he was a Rhodes Scholar, wrote One Hundred Days of Silence after visiting Rwanda in the summer of 2001. Cohen recounts in the preface to his book that his visit sparked a thirst for insight and knowledge into the genocide of 1994. He began by reading significant works by scholars such as Alison Des Forges, Samantha Power, and Gérard Prunier and was further influenced by a series of important internships with the State Department and the Department of Defense. Cohen declares that the intent of his book is “to expand on the existing literature by answering key questions that remain unanswered and by providing the crucial perspectives that are necessary to filly appreciate this historical tragedy.” (1)
Methods
Cohen believes that the “crucial perspectives” necessary in order to explore the unanswered questions concerning America’s knowledge of the Rwanda genocide can only be found by interviewing the leaders and players involved at the time of the genocide.(2) Thus, oral histories serve as the primary source of information for his text although they are not set off as individual narratives but rather are woven throughout his analysis and interpretation. Cohen successfully used personal and professional connections to gain access to some of the top authorities in both America and in Rwanda present during the genocide. Some of these leaders had never been interviewed about their knowledge and role before. The majority of the interviews he conducted with “informants” were conducted in person but a few were phone interviews. Using grant monies, Cohen was able to briefly travel to Rwanda for the purpose of conducting interviews. An appendix at the end of the book lists his “key interviews” and their location. Interestingly, the interviews are listed in his chapter notes as “personal interviews.”
Themes
One Hundred Days of Silence explores the involvement (and particular lack of involvement) of the United Stated before, during, and after the 1994 Rwanda genocide. He relies of first-person interviews with top officials and influential authorities to access little-known information that is crucially important to a full understanding of the connections and knowledge between the two nations. The information conveyed in these interviews supports Cohen’s theory that American did understand the potential for genocide and the scope that it would entail. Cohen also clearly relates the bureaucratic nightmare of American government that pushed and pulled for certain actions and responses to take place. The interviews are treated as secret glimpses into the apparatus that is the American government and its objectives in terms of African affairs. Cohen is careful to back up his revealing interviews with documentary evidence including state department reports and congressional documents. The interviews, however, do not just disclose political background and policy information, but they also expose feelings and emotions as the leaders reflect on the devastation and terror of the genocide. Cohen ends his text with suggestions on what could have been done differently. This perhaps is his attempt to push for change and social consciousness.
Source
1. Jared Cohen, One Hundred Days of Silence: America and the Rwanda Genocide, (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 2007): xix.
2. Jared Cohen, One Hundred Days of Silence: America and the Rwanda Genocide, (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 2007): xxvi.
